oLife Adventures and Bucket Listo

Santa Cruz

It’s time to add Santa Cruz to your must-see list!

Santa Cruz is located on Cali’s Central Coast, 65 miles south of San Francisco and 35 miles north of Monterey. Nestled on the northern side of the Monterey Bay and lined with redwoods and mountains.

Find over a 100 years of local surfing history at the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum.

Things to do in Santa Cruz County?

With 29 miles of sun-soaking coast, Santa Cruz County offers some of California’s most epic beaches. But the fun only begins at the beach. (-= Visit a beach boardwalk or a museum or art gallery, go wine tasting, ride a steam train or go for a ride through the redwoods. !

Odd Fact: Santa Cruz County’s 40-mile stretch of coast is home to more than 70 noteworthy surf spots.

Santa Cruz is the dividing line between rugged, non-pretentious NorCal and suburban, image-concerned SoCal, and that dichotomy is tangible. In this college town palms grow next to pines and pros live next door to reclusive soul surfers. Huntington Beach may have won the right to the name “Surf City, USA” in the California courts, but any surfer who’s ever paddled out at Steamer Lane knows the judge got it wrong. The first waves surfed in the Continental United States were ridden in Santa Cruz by brothers Jonah, David, and Edward Kawananakoa in 1885, and the town has had a thriving surf scene since. Don’t be fooled by the chilly temps, the organizing principal in the lives of most Santa Cruzians is surf, and with numerous legendary breaks dotting the coast, it’s no wonder this sleepy gem has become the de facto capital of cold-water surfing.
Read more at http://www.surfermag.com/features/best-surf-towns-no-1/#i5YDiT8MzEz3FkME.99